This is an as-told-essay based on a conversation with Paul Farahvar, a touring stand-up comedian based in Chicago who previously worked as a trial lawyer. This story has been edited for length and clarity.
Right out of law school, I started practicing at an insurance defense law firm. I had won a case in the Illinois Supreme Court when I was only 25, which then led to places trying to recruit me.
I went to a firm that allowed me to work part-time, because I was also playing in and managing bands and doing entertainment law on the side. Eventually, one of my partners and I split off and started our own law firm.
Comedy came into the picture by…
